Open Stage Night 12/03/09
The March 12th 'Open Stage Night' was the 8th to be hosted by Blank Studios and possibly the most eventful yet.
With acts ranging from the sublime folky acoustic guitar duo Rich & Paul to the outright offensive, experimental Lobster Priest and everything in between.
There certainly was something for everyone on Thursday night.
The newest addition to the Blank family Angus Mason, unwillingly lost his 'stand up' virginity as he was ushered on to the stage to 'break the ice' before the first act. Though Angus has a natural talent for delivering a joke, his close to the bone sense of humour is not necessarily to everyones taste.
I for one, found massive amusement in the way hew managed to split the crowd, half were in creases the other half sporting a mildly offended expression and not knowing where to look as he closed with a controversial Stephen Hawkins jibe...
Other notable acts on the night included Boback, a 60's inspired rock and roll band who executed their catchy set with tremendous precision. Zadok entertained us with stories of a troubled karate instructor accompanied by meandering bass lines and intense left-field guitar riffage, whilst half of Espionage of the Loc delivered a fine acoustic set, as did singer-songwriter Joe.
Surely though, the most memorable act for all who got to see them (whether for good or bad) were Lobster Priest. As the guitarist cranked the 4 x 12 Marshall Stack up to full volume drowning out any other sound in the room including the drum kit.
I ushered to Sam to go pull the volume back a bit, but being a fan of all things nasty himself he just looked at me with a glint in his eye as the lights went out and began to nod ... The unavoidable comedy of the moment was perfectly framed in the faces of a few innocent soft rock fans, who only moments ago where heartily sipping their real ale whist enjoying some 'Dylan-esque' acoustic guitar and were now sat in the dark in front of 3 men in devil masks spitting absolute hell out of their guitar amps. Each to their own eh....
Of course the genius of this entire arrangement is that the whole night was recorded. All tracks will be returned to the respective artists in due course and there will be two tracks selected and sent out with the next Blank Studios newsletter. So if your not already on the mailing list, get on it...
